The Role of Gender in Medical Care. The Case of the Imperial Habsburg Family (16th–17th centuries)

The present project aims to reach a full comprehension of early modern medical encounter, exploring how gender differentiation played out at all its levels. In particular, the research establishes a comparison, which has not thus far made, between male and female patients in terms of relationship with the physician, trust in ancient medical tradition, ability to negotiate cures, and impact on the outcomes of medical visit. The project also casts light on the women’s self-image as patients, investigating to what extent they participated in the diagnostic processes and therapeutic decisions, and providing a detailed picture of their approach to health, illness and the body. In particular, the research focuses on a relevant case study – the imperial Habsburg family in the 16th and 17th centuries –, relying on a broad variety of archival patient-centred sources, such as the letters of private character the male and female members of the family sent, and their correspondence with the attending doctors. The medical consultation papers physicians compiled for the family members will be also examined. All these sources are examined in light of the social context of the Habsburg courts – political and cultural organisms – as well as in relation to the factors that influenced the medical practice there – connections between the sovereign’s health and politics, the interdenominational conflicts of the period, the high social status of the Habsburg patients, the rigidly hierarchized family structure, and the family members’ different degree of autonomy. By intertwining the social history of medicine, gender history, the history of material culture, and the history of emotions, the research will show how medical practice impacted the self-determination and identity of the imperial family both as a collective political body and as individuals.

Keywords

Habsburg family; court medicine; early modern medical practice; female patients; patient-doctor relationship